Differentiating between near trailer and connected trailer

ABSTRACT

A system for assisting in aligning a vehicle for hitching with a trailer includes a steering system that adjusts a steering angle of the vehicle, a braking system that adjusts a speed of the vehicle, an imaging system that receives image data of a trailer disposed in an area proximate the vehicle, and a controller. The controller detects, within a threshold distance defined from a stationary point on the vehicle and the trailer, a position of a coupler from the image data, and, responsive to the position being less than the threshold distance, a status of the trailer based on the image data being indicative of a position of a hitch ball relative to the coupler within a second threshold. The controller maneuvers, via the steering and braking systems, the vehicle based on the status.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure generally relates to a vehicle hitch assistancesystem. In particular, the disclosure relates to a hitch assist systemintegrated with a trailer backup assist system to classify and determinea status of a trailer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Hitching a trailer to a vehicle can be a difficult and time-consumingexperience. In particular, aligning a vehicle hitch ball with thedesired trailer hitch can, depending on the initial location of thetrailer relative to the vehicle, require repeated forward and reversedriving coordinated with multiple steering maneuvers to appropriatelyposition the vehicle. Further, through a significant portion of thedriving needed for appropriate hitch ball alignment, the trailer hitchcannot be seen, and the hitch ball can, under ordinary circumstances,never actually be seen by the driver. This lack of sight lines requiresinference of the positioning of the hitch ball and hitch based onexperience with a particular vehicle and trailer, and can still requiremultiple instances of stopping and stepping out of the vehicle toconfirm alignment or to note an appropriate correction for a subsequentset of maneuvers. Even further, the closeness of the hitch ball to therear bumper of the vehicle means that any overshoot can cause thevehicle to come into contact with the trailer. Accordingly, furtheradvancements may be desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a vehicle forhitching with a trailer comprises a steering system that adjusts asteering angle of the vehicle, a braking system that adjusts a speed ofthe vehicle, an imaging system that receives image data of a trailerdisposed in an area proximate the vehicle, and a controller. Thecontroller detects, within a threshold distance defined from astationary point on the vehicle and the trailer, a position of a couplerfrom the image data. The controller also detects, responsive to theposition is less than the threshold distance, a status of the trailerbased on the image data being indicative of a position of a hitch ballrelative to the coupler within a second threshold, and maneuvers, viathe steering and braking systems, the vehicle based on the status.

According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a vehiclecomprises an imaging system that receives image data of a trailer and acontroller. The controller detects, within a threshold distance definedfrom a stationary point on the vehicle and the trailer, a position of acoupler from the image data, and, responsive to the position is lessthan the threshold distance, a status of the trailer based on the imagedata being indicative of a position of a hitch ball relative to thecoupler compared to a second threshold, that the controller maneuversthe vehicle based on the status with the steering and braking systems.

According to yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method foraligning a vehicle for hitching with a trailer comprises detecting atrailer disposed in an area proximate a vehicle hitch in the image datafrom a vehicle imaging system, identifying a position of a coupler onthe trailer from the image data being with a threshold distance,detecting, responsive to the position is less than the thresholddistance, a status of the trailer based on the image data beingindicative of a position of a hitch ball relative to the couplercompared to a second threshold; and maneuvering, via the steering andbraking systems, the vehicle based on the status.

Embodiments of the first aspect of the invention can include any one ora combination of the following features:

-   -   a steering system that adjusts a steering angle;    -   a braking system that adjusts a speed;    -   an imaging system that receives image data of a trailer;    -   a controller that detects, within a threshold distance defined        from a stationary point on the vehicle and the trailer, a        position of a coupler from the image data; that detects,        responsive to the position being less than the threshold        distance, a status of the trailer based on the image data being        indicative of a position of a hitch ball relative to the coupler        within a second threshold, and that maneuvers, via the steering        and braking systems, the vehicle based on the status;    -   the imaging system includes a radar-based detection system to        image the coupler and a camera to generate image data of the        hitch ball;    -   the controller is configured to transmit the status to a vehicle        control sub-system;    -   the status is determined through association of the image data        with predetermined image data being indicative of each of the        statuses and stored in the controller;    -   the threshold distance is indicative of a distance from a center        point of the hitch ball to a center point of the coupler;    -   an interface configured to display the trailer and coupler from        the image data such that an identifier highlights the trailer,        wherein the identifier is adjustable on a display of the        interface;    -   the identifier is a window that surrounds the tongue or coupler        and is adjustable such that the window is moveable to a second        trailer tongue and coupler detected by the controller;    -   an imaging system that receives image data of a trailer disposed        in an area proximate a vehicle hitch;    -   a controller that detects, within a threshold distance defined        from a stationary point on the vehicle and the trailer, a        position of a coupler from the image data, that detects,        responsive to the position being less than the threshold        distance, a status of the trailer based on the image data being        indicative of a position of a hitch ball relative to the coupler        compared to a second threshold, and that maneuvers, via the        steering and braking systems, the vehicle based on the status;    -   the imaging system includes a radar-based detection system to        image the trailer and coupler, and a camera to generate image        data of the hitch ball;    -   the controller is configured to transmit the status to a vehicle        control sub-system;    -   the status is determined through association of the image data        with predetermined image data indicative of each of the statuses        being stored in the controller;    -   the threshold distance is indicative of a distance from a center        point of the hitch ball to a center point of the coupler;    -   an interface that displays the trailer and coupler from the        image data such that an identifier highlights the trailer,        wherein the identifier is adjustable on a display of the        interface;    -   the identifier is a window that surrounds the trailer, and is        adjustable such that the window is moveable to a second trailer        detected by the controller;    -   detecting a trailer disposed in an area proximate a vehicle        hitch in the image data from a vehicle imaging system;    -   identifying a position of a coupler on the trailer from the        image data being with a threshold distance;    -   detecting, responsive to the position being less than the        threshold distance, a status of the trailer based on the image        data being indicative of a position of a hitch ball relative to        the coupler compared to a second threshold;    -   maneuvering, via the steering and braking systems, the vehicle        based on the status;    -   transmitting the status to a vehicle control sub-system;    -   the status is determined through association of the image data        with predetermined image data of each of the statuses stored in        the controller;    -   the threshold distance is indicative of a distance from a center        point of the hitch ball to a center point of the coupler;    -   displaying on an interface of the trailer from the image data        such that an identifier highlights the trailer, wherein the        identifier is adjustable on a display of the interface; and    -   adjusting the identifier being a window that surrounds the        trailer such that the window is moveable to individual trailer        components detected by the controller.

These and other aspects, objects, and features of the present disclosurewill be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art uponstudying the following specification, claims, and appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle in an unhitched positionrelative to a trailer;

FIG. 2 is a diagram of a system, according to an aspect of thedisclosure, for assisting in aligning the vehicle with a trailer in aposition for hitching the trailer to the vehicle;

FIG. 3 is an overhead schematic view of a vehicle during a step of thealignment sequence with the trailer;

FIG. 4 is an overhead schematic view of the vehicle during a subsequentstep of the alignment sequence with the trailer;

FIG. 5 is an overhead schematic view of the vehicle during a subsequentstep of the alignment sequence with the trailer;

FIG. 6 is an overhead schematic view of the vehicle during a subsequentstep of the alignment sequence with the trailer and showing the positionof a hitch ball of the vehicle at an end of a derived alignment path;

FIGS. 7A-7F are rear perspective views of an image of a trailer beingsegregated by a trailer component;

FIG. 8 is a control logic flow diagram depicting a traileridentification and classification scheme;

FIG. 9 is control logic flow diagram depicting an implantation of thetrailer classification scheme;

FIG. 10 is a control logic flow diagram depicting integration betweenthe trailer classification scheme with a trailer status control scheme;

FIGS. 11A-11B are rear, perspective views of a trailer having a near anda connected status, respectively;

FIG. 12 is a control logic flow diagram depicting an implementation of atrailer status control scheme;

FIG. 13 is control logic flow diagram depicting an alternativeimplementation of the trailer status control scheme; and

FIG. 14 is a control logic flow diagram depicting an implementation ofthe trailer status control scheme.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

For purposes of description herein, the terms “upper,” “lower,” “right,”“left,” “rear,” “front,” “vertical,” “horizontal,” “interior,”“exterior,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to the device asoriented in FIG. 1. However, it is to be understood that the device mayassume various alternative orientations, except where expresslyspecified to the contrary. It is also to be understood that the specificdevices and processes illustrated in the attached drawing, and describedin the following specification are simply exemplary embodiments of theinventive concepts defined in the appended claims. Hence, specificdimensions and other physical characteristics relating to theembodiments disclosed herein are not to be considered as limiting,unless the claims expressly state otherwise. Additionally, unlessotherwise specified, it is to be understood that discussion of aparticular feature or component extending in or along a given direction,or the like, does not mean that the feature or component follows astraight line or axis in such a direction or that it only extends insuch direction or on such a plane without other directional componentsor deviations, unless otherwise specified.

Referring generally to FIGS. 1-6, reference numeral 10 designates ahitch assistance system (also referred to as a “hitch assist” system ora “hitching assistance” system) for a vehicle 12. With respect to thegeneral operation of the hitch assist system 10, as illustrated in thesystem diagram of FIG. 2, system 10 includes various sensors and devicesthat obtain or otherwise provide vehicle status-related information.This information includes positioning information from a positioningsystem 22, which may include a dead-reckoning device 24 or, in additionor as an alternative, a global positioning system (GPS), to determine acoordinate location of the vehicle 12 based on the one or more locationsof the devices within the positioning system 22. In particular, thedead-reckoning device 24 can establish and track the coordinate locationof the vehicle 12 within a localized coordinate system 82 based at leaston vehicle speed and steering angle δ. Other vehicle informationreceived by hitch assist system 10 may include a speed of the vehicle 12from a speed sensor 56 and a yaw rate of the vehicle 12 from a yaw ratesensor 58. It is contemplated that in additional embodiments, aproximity sensor array 54 or an array thereof, and other vehicle sensorsand devices, may provide sensor signals or other information, such assequential images of a trailer 16, including the detected coupler 14,that the controller 26 of the hitch assist system 10 may process withvarious routines to determine the height H and position of coupler 14.

As further shown in FIG. 2, one embodiment of the hitch assist system 10is in communication with the steering system 20 of vehicle 12, which maybe a power assist steering system 20 including an electric steeringmotor 74 to operate the steered wheels 76 (FIG. 1) of the vehicle 12 formoving the vehicle 12 in such a manner that the vehicle yaw changes withthe vehicle velocity and the steering angle δ. In the illustratedembodiment, the power assist steering system 20 is an electricpower-assisted steering (“EPAS”) system including electric steeringmotor 74 for turning the steered wheels 76 to a steering angle δ basedon a steering command, whereby the steering angle δ may be sensed by asteering angle sensor 78 of the power assist steering system 20. Thesteering command may be provided by the hitch assist system 10 forautonomously steering during a trailer hitch alignment maneuver and may,alternatively, be provided manually via a rotational position (e.g.,steering wheel angle) of a steering wheel of vehicle 12. However, in theillustrated embodiment, the steering wheel of the vehicle 12 ismechanically coupled with the steered wheels 76 of the vehicle 12, suchthat the steering wheel moves in concert with steered wheels 76,preventing manual intervention with the steering wheel during autonomoussteering. More specifically, a torque sensor 80 is provided on the powerassist steering system 20 that senses torque on the steering wheel thatis not expected from autonomous control of the steering wheel and,therefore, indicative of manual intervention, whereby the hitch assistsystem 10 may alert the driver to discontinue manual intervention withthe steering wheel and/or discontinue autonomous steering. Inalternative embodiments, some vehicles have a power assist steeringsystem 20 that allows a steering wheel to be partially decoupled frommovement of the steered wheels 76 of such a vehicle.

With continued reference to FIG. 2, the power assist steering system 20provides the controller 26 of the hitch assist system 10 withinformation relating to a rotational position of steered wheels 76 ofthe vehicle 12, including a steering angle δ. The controller 26, in theillustrated embodiment, processes the current steering angle, inaddition to other vehicle 12 conditions, to guide the vehicle 12 alongthe desired path 32 (FIG. 3). It is conceivable that the hitch assistsystem 10, in additional embodiments, may be an integrated component ofthe power assist steering system 20. For example, the power assiststeering system 20 may include a hitch assist algorithm for generatingvehicle steering information and commands as a function of all or aportion of information received from the imaging system 18, the powerassist steering system 20, a vehicle brake control system 70, apowertrain control system 72, and other vehicle sensors and devices, aswell as a human-machine interface 40, as discussed further below.

As also illustrated in FIG. 2, the vehicle brake control system 70 mayalso communicate with the controller 26 to provide the hitch assistsystem 10 with braking information, such as vehicle wheel speed, and toreceive braking commands from the controller 26. For instance, vehiclespeed information can be determined from individual wheel speeds asmonitored by the brake control system 70. Vehicle speed may also bedetermined from the powertrain control system 72, the speed sensor 56,and the positioning system 22, among other conceivable means. In someembodiments, individual wheel speeds can also be used to determine avehicle yaw rate {dot over (γ)}, which can be provided to the hitchassist system 10 in the alternative or in addition to the vehicle yawrate sensor 58. The hitch assist system 10 can, further, provide vehiclebraking information to the brake control system 70 for allowing thehitch assist system 10 to control braking of the vehicle 12 duringbacking of the trailer 16. For example, the hitch assist system 10, insome embodiments, may regulate speed of the vehicle 12 during alignmentof the vehicle 12 with the coupler 14 of trailer 16, which can reducethe potential for contact with trailer 16, and can bring vehicle 12 to acomplete stop at a determined endpoint 35 of path 32. It is disclosedherein that the hitch assist system 10 can additionally or alternativelyissue an alert signal corresponding to a notification of an actual,impending, and/or anticipated contact with a portion of trailer 16. Thepowertrain control system 72, as shown in the embodiment illustrated inFIG. 2, may also interact with the hitch assist system 10 for regulatingspeed and acceleration of the vehicle 12 during partial or autonomousalignment with trailer 16. As mentioned above, regulation of the speedof the vehicle 12 may be advantageous to prevent contact with trailer16.

Additionally, the hitch assist system 10 may communicate withhuman-machine interface (“HMI”) 40 for the vehicle 12. The HMI 40 mayinclude a vehicle display 44, such as a center-stack mounted navigationor entertainment display (FIG. 1). HMI 40 further includes an inputdevice, which can be implemented by configuring display 44 as a portionof a touchscreen 42 with circuitry 46 to receive an input correspondingwith a location over display 44. Other forms of input, including one ormore joysticks, digital input pads, or the like, can be used in place orin addition to touchscreen 42. Further, the hitch assist system 10 maycommunicate via wireless communication with another embodiment of theHMI 40, such as with one or more handheld or portable devices 96 (FIG.1), including one or more smartphones. The portable device 96 may alsoinclude the display 44 for displaying one or more images and otherinformation to a user. For instance, the portable device 96 may displayone or more images of the trailer 16 on the display 44 and may befurther able to receive remote user inputs via touchscreen circuitry 46.In addition, the portable device 96 may provide feedback information,such as visual, audible, and tactile alerts.

Still referring to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the controller 26 isconfigured with a microprocessor 60 to process logic and routines storedin memory 62 that receive information from the above-described sensorsand vehicle systems, including the imaging system 18, the power assiststeering system 20, the vehicle brake control system 70, the powertraincontrol system 72, and other vehicle sensors and devices. The controller26 may generate vehicle steering information and commands as a functionof all or a portion of the information received. Thereafter, the vehiclesteering information and commands may be provided to the power assiststeering system 20 for affecting steering of the vehicle 12 to achieve acommanded path 32 (FIG. 3) of travel for alignment with the coupler 14of trailer 16. The controller 26 may include the microprocessor 60and/or other analog and/or digital circuitry for processing one or moreroutines. Also, the controller 26 may include the memory 62 for storingone or more routines, including an image processing routine 64 and/orhitch detection routine, a path derivation routine 66, and an operatingroutine 68. It should be appreciated that the controller 26 may be astand-alone dedicated controller or may be a shared controllerintegrated with other control functions, such as integrated with avehicle sensor system, the power assist steering system 20, and otherconceivable on-board or off-board vehicle control systems. It shouldfurther be appreciated that the image processing routine 64 may becarried out by a dedicated processor, for example, within a stand-aloneimaging system for vehicle 12 that can output the results of its imageprocessing to other components and systems of vehicle 12, includingmicroprocessor 60. Further, any system, computer, processor, or thelike, that completes image processing functionality, such as thatdescribed herein, may be referred to herein as an “image processor”regardless of other functionality it may also implement (includingsimultaneously with executing image processing routine 64).

System 10 can also incorporate an imaging system 18 that includes one ormore exterior cameras, which, in the illustrated examples, include rearcamera 48, center high-mount stoplight (CMHSL) camera 50, and side-viewcameras, although other arrangements including additional or alternativecameras are possible. In one example, imaging system 18 can include rearcamera 48 alone or can be configured such that system 10 utilizes onlyrear camera 48 in a vehicle with multiple exterior cameras. In anotherexample, the various cameras 48, 50 included in imaging system 18 can bepositioned to generally overlap in their respective fields of view,which may correspond with rear camera 48, center high-mount stoplight(CMHSL) camera 50, and side-view cameras, respectively. In this manner,image data 55 from two or more of the cameras can be combined in imageprocessing routine 64, or in another dedicated image processor withinimaging system 18, into a single image. In an extension of such anexample, the image data 55 can be used to derive stereoscopic image datathat can be used to reconstruct a three-dimensional scene of the area orareas within overlapped areas of the various fields of view 49,including any objects (obstacles or coupler 14, for example) therein. Inan embodiment, the use of two images including the same object can beused to determine a location of the object relative to the two imagesources, given a known spatial relationship between the image sources.In this respect, the image processing routine 64 can use knownprogramming and/or functionality to identify an object within image data55 from the various cameras 48, 50 within imaging system 18. In eitherexample, the image processing routine 64 can include information relatedto the positioning of any cameras 48, 50 present on vehicle 12 orutilized by system 10, including relative to the center 36 (FIG. 1) ofvehicle 12, for example, such that the positions of cameras 48, 50relative to center 36 and/or to each other can be used for objectpositioning calculations and to result in object position data relativeto the center 36 of vehicle 12, for example, or other features ofvehicle 12, such as hitch ball 34 (FIG. 1), with known positionsrelative to center 36. In one aspect, the various systems and vehiclefeatures discussed herein, including imaging system 18, positioningsystem 22, brake control system 70, powertrain control system 72, powerassist steering system 20, proximity sensor array 54, positioning system22, and the vehicle sensors discussed herein may generally be used forpurposes of vehicle control, such as under control of the user,including potentially with assistance of an on-board computer or otherprocessor communicating with the systems and features. In this manner,the systems and features can be referred to collectively as a vehiclecontrol system that may be utilized by controller 26 for the automaticvehicle control functionality discussed herein.

The image processing routine 64 can be specifically programmed orotherwise configured to locate coupler 14 within image data 55. In anexample, the image processing routine 64 can first attempt to identifyany trailers 16 within the image data 55, which can be done based onstored or otherwise known visual characteristics of trailer 16, of anumber of different types, sizes or configurations of trailerscompatible with system 10, or trailers, in general. Controller 26 canseek confirmation from the user that the identification of the trailer16 is accurate and is the correct trailer for which to complete anassisted hitching operation, as described further below. After thetrailer 16 is identified, controller 26 may then identify the coupler 14of that trailer 16 within the image data 55 based, similarly, on storedor otherwise known visual characteristics of coupler 14 or couplers, ingeneral. In another embodiment, a marker in the form of a sticker, orthe like, may be affixed with trailer 16 in a specified positionrelative to coupler 14 in a manner similar to that which is described incommonly-assigned U.S. Pat. No. 9,102,271, the entire disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein. In such an embodiment, imageprocessing routine 64 may be programmed with identifying characteristicsof the marker for location in image data 55, as well as the positioningof coupler 14 relative to such a marker so that the position 28 ofcoupler 14 can be determined based on the marker location. Additionally,or alternatively, controller 26 may seek confirmation of the determinedcoupler 14, via a prompt on touchscreen 42. If the coupler 14determination is not confirmed, further image processing may beprovided, or user-adjustment of the position 28 of coupler 14 may befacilitated, either using touchscreen 42 or another input to allow theuser to move the depicted position 28 of coupler 14 on touchscreen 42,which controller 26 uses to adjust the determination of position 28 ofcoupler 14 with respect to vehicle 12 based on the above-described useof image data 55.

In various examples, controller 26 may initially rely on theidentification of trailer 16 for the initial stages of an automatedhitching operation, with the path 32 being derived to move the hitchball 34 toward a centrally aligned position with respect to trailer 16with the path 32 being refined once the coupler 14 is identified. Suchan operational scheme can be implemented when it is determined thattrailer 16 is at a far enough distance from vehicle 12 to begin backingwithout knowing the precise endpoint 35 of path 32 and can be usefulwhen trailer 16 is at a distance where the resolution of the image data55 makes it possible to accurately identify trailer 16, but at which thecoupler 14 cannot be precisely identified. In this manner, initialrearward movement of vehicle 12 can allow for calibration of varioussystem 10 inputs or measurements that can improve the accuracy ofdistance measurements, for example, that can help make coupler 14identification more accurate. Similarly, movement of vehicle 12resulting in a change to the particular image within the data 55 thatcan improve the resolution or move the coupler 14 relative to theremaining portions of trailer 16 such that it can be more easilyidentified.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image processing routine 64 and operatingroutine 68 may be used in conjunction with each other to determine thepath 32 along which hitch assist system 10 can guide vehicle 12 to alignhitch ball 34 and coupler 14 of trailer 16. Upon initiation of hitchassist system 10, such as by user input on touchscreen 42, for example,image processing routine 64 can identify coupler 14 within the imagedata 55 and at least attempt to estimate the position 28 of coupler 14relative to hitch ball 34 using the image data 55 in accordance with oneof the examples discussed above to determine a distance D_(c) to coupler14 and an angle α_(c) of offset between a line connecting hitch ball 34and coupler 14 and the longitudinal axis of vehicle 12. Image processingroutine 64 can also be configured to identify the trailer 16 overall andcan use the image data of trailer 16, alone or in combination with theimage data of coupler 14, to determine the orientation or heading 33 oftrailer 16. In this manner, the path 32 can further be derived to alignvehicle 12 with respect to trailer 16 with the longitudinal axis 13 ofvehicle 12 within a predetermined angular range of the heading 33 oftrailer 16. Notably, such alignment may not require that thelongitudinal axis 13 of vehicle 12 is parallel or collinear with theheading 33 of trailer 16, but may simply be within a range thatgenerally allows connection of hitch ball 34 with coupler 14 withoutcontact between vehicle 12 and trailer 16 and may further allowimmediate controlled backing of trailer 16 using vehicle 12. In thismanner, the angular range may be such that the alignment of vehicle 12with trailer 16 at the end of the operating routine 68 is such that theangle between longitudinal axis 13 and heading 33 is less than thejackknife angle between the vehicle 12 and trailer 16 when coupled or areasonable estimate thereof. In one example, the angular range may besuch that longitudinal axis 13 is within about 30° from collinear withheading 33 in either direction.

Continuing with reference to FIG. 3 with additional reference to FIG. 2,controller 26, having estimated the positioning D_(c), α_(c) of coupler14, as discussed above, can, in one example, execute path derivationroutine 66 to determine vehicle path 32 to align the vehicle hitch ball34 with coupler 14. In particular, controller 26 can have stored inmemory 62 various characteristics of vehicle 12, including the wheelbaseW, the distance from the rear axle to the hitch ball 34, which isreferred to herein as L, as well as the maximum angle to which thesteered wheels 76 can be turned δ_(max). As shown, the wheelbase W andthe current steering angle δ can be used to determine a correspondingturning radius ρ for vehicle 12 according to the equation:ρ=W/tan δ,  (1)in which the wheelbase W is fixed and the steering angle δ can becontrolled by controller 26 by communication with steering system 20, asdiscussed above. In this manner, when the maximum steering angle δ_(max)is known, the smallest possible value for the turning radius ρ_(min) isdetermined as:ρ_(min) =W/tan δ_(max).  (2)

Path derivation routine 66 can be programmed to derive vehicle path 32to align a known location of the vehicle hitch ball 34 with theestimated position 28 of coupler 14 that takes into account thedetermined minimum turning radius ρ_(min) to allow path 32 to use theminimum amount of space and maneuvers. In this manner, path derivationroutine 66 can use the position of vehicle 12, which can be based on thecenter 36 of vehicle 12, a location along the rear axle, the location ofthe dead-reckoning device 24, or another known location on thecoordinate system 82, to determine both a lateral distance to thecoupler 14 and a forward or rearward distance to coupler 14 and derive apath 32 that achieves the needed lateral and forward-backward movementof vehicle 12 within the limitations of steering system 20. Thederivation of path 32 further takes into account the positioning ofhitch ball 34, based on length L, relative to the tracked location ofvehicle 12 (which may correspond with the center 36 of the mass ofvehicle 12, the location of a GPS receiver, or another specified, knownarea) to determine the needed positioning of vehicle 12 to align hitchball 34 with coupler 14. It is noted that hitch assist system 10 cancompensate for horizontal movement Δx of coupler 14 in a drivingdirection by determining the movement of coupler 14 in the verticaldirection Δy that will be needed to receive hitch ball 34 within coupler14. Such functionality is discussed further in co-pending,commonly-assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 9,821,845 and 10,870,323, the entiredisclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.

As discussed above, once the desired path 32, including endpoint 35, hasbeen determined, controller 26 is then allowed to at least control thesteering system 20 of vehicle 12 with the powertrain control system 72and the brake control system 70 (whether controlled by the driver or bycontroller 26, as discussed below) controlling the velocity (forward orrearward) of vehicle 12. In this manner, controller 26 can receive dataregarding the position of vehicle 12 during movement thereof frompositioning system 22 while controlling steering system 20, as needed,to maintain vehicle 12 along path 32. In particular, the path 32, havingbeen determined based on the vehicle 12 and the geometry of steeringsystem 20, can adjust the steering angle δ, as dictated by path 32,depending on the position of vehicle 12 therealong. It is additionallynoted that in an embodiment, the path 32 may comprise a progression ofsteering angle δ adjustment that is dependent on the tracked vehicleposition.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, vehicle path 32 can be determined to achievethe needed lateral and rearward movement within the smallest areapossible and/or with the lowest number of maneuvers. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 3, path 32 can include two portions defined by steeringof wheels 76 in different directions to collectively traverse the neededlateral movement of vehicle 12, while providing a final straight,rearward backing segment to bring hitch ball 34 into the above-describedoffset alignment with coupler 14. It is noted that variations in thedepicted path 32 may be used. It is further noted that the estimates forthe positioning D_(c), α_(c) of coupler 14 may become more accurate asvehicle 12 traverses path 32, including to position vehicle 12 in frontof trailer 16 and as vehicle 12 approaches coupler 14. Accordingly, suchestimates can be continuously derived and used to update path derivationroutine 66, if necessary, in the determination of the adjusted endpoint35 for path 32, as discussed above. In a similar manner, the path 32, asderived using the position and orientation data acquired from a portabledevice 96, such as a smartphone, can be fine-tuned once the imageprocessing routine 64 can identify coupler 14 in the image data 55, withcontinued updates for path 32 being similarly derived as the image data55 becomes increasingly clear during the approach toward trailer 16. Itis further noted that, until such a determination can be made, thedead-reckoning device 24 can be used to track the location of vehicle 12in its movement along path 32 toward the initially-derived endpoint 35.

As shown in FIGS. 4-6, once the trailer 16 and coupler 14 have beenidentified, and system 10 determines the path 32 to align hitch ball 34with the coupler 14, the controller 26 executing operating routine 68may continue to control vehicle 12 until hitch ball 34 is in the desiredendpoint 35 relative to coupler 14 for coupler 14 to engage with hitchball 34 when coupler 14 is lowered into horizontal alignment therewith.In the example discussed above, image processing routine 64 continuouslymonitors the positioning D_(c), α_(c) of coupler 14, constantly or onceavailable, during execution of operating routine 68, including ascoupler 14 comes into clearer view of rear camera 48, with continuedmovement of vehicle 12 along path 32. As discussed above, the positionof vehicle 12 can also be monitored by dead-reckoning device 24 with theposition 28 of coupler 14 being continuously updated and fed into pathderivation routine 66 in case path 32 and/or endpoint 35 can be refinedor should be updated (due to, for example, improved height H_(c),distance D_(c), or offset angle α_(c) information due to closerresolution or additional image data 55), including as the vehicle 12moves closer to the trailer 16, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Stillfurther, the coupler 14 can be assumed to be static such that theposition of the vehicle 12 can be tracked by continuing to track thecoupler 14 to remove the need for use of the dead-reckoning device 24.In a similar manner, a modified variation of operating routine 68 canprogress through a predetermined sequence of maneuvers involvingsteering of vehicle 12 at or below a maximum steering angle δ_(max),while tracking the position D_(c), α_(c) of coupler 14 to converge theknown relative position of hitch ball 34 to the desired position 38thereof relative to the tracked position 28 of coupler 14, as discussedabove and shown in FIG. 6.

During an assisted hitching operation, such as in the example describedwith respect to FIGS. 4-6, system 10 requires a minimum amount oflongitudinal distance between the vehicle 12 and the trailer 16 tocontrol movement of vehicle 12 with a level of precision desired toachieve the desired final position of hitch ball 34 with respect tocoupler 14 (i.e., without overshooting the desired final location, suchthat hitch ball 34 moves past the coupler 14, or otherwise endingoperating routine 68 with hitch ball 34 positioned relative to coupler14 such that manual movement of trailer 16 is required). The requiredminimum distance can vary but is generally influenced by therequirements of image processing routine 64, as well as the requirementsof speed sensor 56, the responsiveness of the throttle 73 and vehiclebrake control system 70, as well as the general processing speed ofcontroller 26 of other components of system 10. In one example, imageprocessing routine 64 may require a minimum travel distance forcalibration thereof, including to accurately identify coupler 14 and toassist in tracking the movement of vehicle 12. As discussed furtherbelow, the particular minimum distance can be estimated for a givenimplementation of system 10, based on known values or estimates for suchfactors. In general, because of the minimum travel distance requirement,if vehicle 12 is at a standstill with insufficient longitudinal distanceremaining between hitch ball 34 and coupler 14, the system 10 isprogrammed to either not initiate operating routine 68 or, if alreadystarted, abort operating routine 68 to avoid overshooting the finaltarget position such that hitch ball 34 moves past endpoint 35. Invarious examples, vehicle 12 may be brought to a standstill for reasonsother than operating routine 68 causing the application of the vehiclebrakes 70. In particular, vehicle 12 may come to a standstill beforereaching the desired final target position due to uneven terrain actingon the vehicle wheels 76 or 77, or by the vehicle brakes 70 beingmanually applied by the driver. Because such events can cause a vehicle12 standstill at any point along path 32, the present system 10 providesthe ability to detect such a standstill event and to address itappropriately given the capabilities and requirements of system 10. Invarious examples, system 10 can address an early standstill by aborting,pausing, or automatically rectifying the standstill condition.

As mentioned above, the “longitudinal control” in an assisted hitchingmaneuver is the portion of vehicle 12 movement along path 32 controlledby the vehicle powertrain control system 72 and the vehicle brake system70 with the “longitudinal control” being the portion controlled by thepower assist steering system 20. It is to be understood that the lateralcontrol requires movement of the vehicle such that the two controlschemes operate together to move vehicle 12 along the path 32. In thisrespect, the longitudinal alignment of the path 32 with the coupler 14is dictated by the longitudinal control (i.e., by the steering system20) and the final stopping point of vehicle 12 along path 32 is dictatedby the longitudinal control. In this respect, the final stopping pointof the vehicle 12 along path 32 determines the alignment in thedirection of travel between hitch ball 34 and coupler 14. In thismanner, system 10 may be able to move vehicle 12 to the final targetposition in a precise manner, for example, such that trailer 16 does nothave to be manually repositioned by the user, but can simply be loweredonto hitch ball 34. In one implementation of system 10, the accuracy infinal longitudinal alignment of hitch ball 34 with coupler 14 can be towithin 1 cm of a completely aligned position (center-to-center).

There are a number of events that can cause vehicle 12 to reach astandstill during an assisted hitching maneuver before reaching thefinal target position. As discussed above, controller 26 executingoperating routine 68 does not directly cause vehicle 12 to stop until itis determined that the vehicle 12 has reached the final target positionwith the hitch ball 34 aligned with the endpoint 35; however, variousoperating conditions may cause the vehicle 12 to inadvertently reach astandstill during operation. Notably, during execution of operatingroutine 68, a low speed of the vehicle 12 is maintained (at least withinthe final 1 to 2 m of the final target position, as determined by thedistance between hitch ball 34 and endpoint 35) to allow for precisestopping in the desired position 38 d at the end of the operation. Atsuch low speeds, the vehicle 12 carries a lower inertia and is driven bya lower torque output of the engine such that the vehicle 12 may bebrought to a standstill by uneven terrain, or by driver-applied braking(even at a generally light application pressure). In one example, thevehicle speed during at least the latter stages of operating routine 68execution may be on the order of 0.1 kph. In an example, an assistedhitching maneuver may occur off of a paved surface, including on uneventerrain that can easily bring the vehicle to a stop (i.e. bumps, pits,rocks). In other examples, the vehicle 12 may encounter debris or otherarticles or defects (rocks, cracks, potholes, bumps) in a paved drivingsurface that may disrupt vehicle movement. Still further, drivers mayhabitually contact or grasp the steering wheel or depress the brakepedal during vehicle movement, especially when vehicle 12 is close tothe trailer 16 where they may not be able to visualize the hitch ball 34or coupler 14.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 7A-7F, the hitch assist system 10 may beable to identify and classify the trailer 16 as well as trailercomponents 110. The hitch assist system 10 detects and tracks thetrailer 16 and trailer components 110 in FIGS. 7A-7B. The hitch assistsystem 10 separately classifies specific components 110 of the trailer16, for example, but not limited to a body 112, base 114, tongue 116,and the coupler 14 in FIGS. 7C-7F. Separately classifying the specificcomponents 110 for a trailer 16 may be used to enhance abort or inhibitlogic to ensure maneuvers with the trailer 16, reduces potential forfalse positive detections, improves alignment at the endpoint 35 of themaneuver due to enhanced judgment of the trailer 16, and improved HMI(“Human Machine Interface”) feedback to the user including by providingan identifier 118 around the trailer 16 and/or each of the trailercomponents 110. The hitch assist system 10 systematically classifies thespecific components 110 of the trailer 16, and uses component data toestimate the endpoint 35.

For example, if the coupler 14 is not classified, such as by image data55 being of a resolution such that coupler 14 cannot be confidentlyidentified, the tongue 116 may be classified to estimate the endpoint35, such as by aligning endpoint 35 at the end of the classified tongue116 and contour matching algorithms. Likewise, if the tongue 116 is notclassified, the base 114 may be classified to estimate the endpoint 35,such as by using an estimation of a pose of the base 144 and can proceedby the estimation being greater than the confidence threshold. If thebase 114 is not classified, the hitch assist system 10 determines apresence of a trailer 16 or trailer-like object. A trailer-like objectmay be any object having similar features, characteristics, or othersimilarities to the trailer 16. The hitch assist system 10 inhibitsoperation, if a trailer 16 is not classified differently than atrailer-like object (not shown). This aids to prevent use onnon-trailers, and improves an ability of the hitch assist system 10 todetect a trailer 16, since the hitch assist system 10 may perceive thetrailer 16 separately from a trailer-like object. The system may alsoabort the maneuver if the tongue is not classified within a firstdistance threshold to the trailer 16.

FIG. 8 depicts control logic showing how the hitch assist system 10 maycombine classifications of the trailer components 110 to inhibitautomated maneuvers below a first threshold indicative of the minimumdistance previously described. The hitch assist system 10 combinesdifferent classifications, such as, for example, between thetrailer-like object and the trailer, and between the base 114, tongue116, and coupler 14. The hitch assist system 10 uses classifications toinhibit the automatic maneuver if the classification is based on anevaluation with an assigned confidence less than a confidence threshold.Also, the hitch assist system 10 aborts the maneuver if the tongue 116is not classified to a confidence within the first threshold. At 200,the imaging system 18 uses sensor-processing techniques on the imagedata 55, such as, but not limited to, camera and ultrasonic radarprocessing, to search for a trailer 16. The imaging system 18 may detecta generic object at 202. At 202, the hitch assist system 10 may assign aclassification to the detected object being a fixed object ofsubstantial size, which may be detected by radar reflections. If at 202,the hitch assist system 10 detects an object, the hitch assist system 10determines if the object is a trailer-like object at 204.

At 204, certain criteria are used, such as a triangular pattern in theimage data 55, a size constraint within the image data 55, a rectangularshape in the image data 55, and any other characteristics or featuresindicative of the trailer 16, to determine if the object is atrailer-like object. The imaging system 18 may also be trained usingmachine learning to provide an estimation of a trailer appearance, whilecapturing a variety of trailer appearances based on a process of trailerdata collection and manual annotation. At 204, the hitch assist system10 may be designed to detect many trailer-like objects, depending onconfidence thresholds associated with classification. This processavoids a non-detection of trailers 16 in situations wheremisidentification is of less consequence (i.e., when movement of vehicle12 toward trailer 16 may improve or result in an accurate detection withroom to maneuver vehicle 12 to an updated endpoint 35. The user may alsodetermine if a trailer-like object is detected at 204, based on anidentifier 118 provided on the display 44 of the interface 40, discussedbelow in more detail. At 204, if the detected object is not similar to atrailer 16 to be classified as a trailer-like object, the hitch assistsystem 10 inhibits the maneuver until a trailer-like object is detectedat 206. If at 204, the hitch assist system does detect a trailer-likeobject, the hitch assist system 10 proceeds to automatically maneuverthe vehicle using the steering and braking systems 20, 70 along the path32 toward the trailer-like object at 208. For example, at 208 the path32 is determined based on an estimation of a coupler position and adetected position of a hitch ball 34, as described previously. The hitchassist system 10 controls (at 206) vehicle speed and steering using thebraking and steering systems respectively to follow the path 32 to theendpoint 35.

While approaching the trailer (at 208) the hitch assist system 10continues to search for the tongue of the trailer 16 in camera imagedata 55 at 210. At 210, the tongue 116 is classified by using contourmatching in an A-frame or I-frame pattern, or using machine learning orneural network recognition. As the vehicle 12 decreases a distancebetween the vehicle 12 and the trailer 16, the tongue 116 becomesvisually more apparent, due to the decrease in the distance and an angleof perspective of the rear camera 48 disposed on the vehicle 12 beingoverhead relative to the tongue 116. If, at 210, the tongue 116 is notdetected in the image data 55, and the vehicle reaches the distancethreshold, at 212, to the trailer 16, the hitch assist system 10determines that the trailer-like object is not a trailer at 214. Thehitch assist system 10 may also detect that conditions, such aslighting, are insufficient to determine a trailer 16 from a trailer-likeobject by determining a tongue 116 and distance threshold at 210, 212.At 214, the hitch assist system 10 aborts the maneuver if the tongue 116is not detected and the vehicle 12 is within the first threshold at 210,212. The operation aborts at 214, and the vehicle is secured, via thesteering and braking systems 20, 70, at a standstill or is otherwise notmoving. If a tongue 116 is detected at 210, or the vehicle 12 is notwithin, or is exceeding the distance threshold at 212, the hitch assistsystem 10 maneuvers (at 208) the vehicle along the path 32.Additionally, if a tongue 116 is not detected at 210, and the vehicle 12is not within, or has exceeded the distance threshold at 212, the hitchassist system 10 maneuvers the vehicle along the path 32 (at 208). At216, the hitch assist system 10 determines if the vehicle 12 hastraveled the path 32 to the endpoint 35. If, at 216, the hitch assistsystem 10 determines that the path 32 is not complete at the endpoint35, the hitch assist system 10 continues to maneuver the vehicle alongthe path 32 at 208. If, at 216, the hitch assist system 10 determinesthat the path 32 is complete at the endpoint 35, the hitch assist system10 ends operation.

FIG. 9 depicts additional control logic showing a classification of thetrailer components 110, such as the coupler 14, tongue 116, and base 114of the trailer 16. Classifying the trailer components 110, as described,may provide a robust and accurate alignment of the hitch ball 34 andcoupler 14 at the endpoint 35 of the path 32. Therefore, refined andspecific classifications of each of the trailer components 110 may allowfor a more precise estimation for the endpoint 35. According to thisprinciple, the hitch assist system 10 utilizes a specific classificationto determine, with greater precision, the endpoint 35. Additionally, thehitch assist system 10 is able to create an identifier 118 on thedisplay 44 of the interface 40 for either the trailer 16 or the coupler14, tongue 116, or base 114 enabled by the classification of each of thetrailer components 110. The identifier 118 may be a window, or boundingbox that surrounds the trailer 16 or each of the trailer components 110,as shown in FIGS. 7A-7F. The classification control scheme depicted inFIG. 9 used by the hitch assist system 10, performs a progressiveclassification, as will be explained below in more detail. At 300, thehitch assist system 10 detects the trailer 16. With the trailer 16detected at 300, the hitch assist system 10 provides the identifier 118on the display 44 of the interface 40 at 302. At 302, the identifier 118fully surrounds, or otherwise encapsulates the trailer 16. Theidentifier 118 created at 302 allows the user to visually observe thetrailer 16 detected by the hitch assist system 10. If a trailer 16 isnot detected at 300, the user is able to reposition the vehicle 12 untilthe identifier 118 appears around the trailer 16.

If (at 300) a trailer 16 is detected, the hitch assist system 10determines a position of the coupler at 304. The position of the couplerat 304 is indicative of the endpoint 35 to which the hitch assist system10 must maneuver. If (at 304) the hitch assist system 10 detects thecoupler 14, the endpoint 35 is set as a center of the coupler 14 at 306.If (at 304) the hitch assist system 10 is unable to detect the coupler14, the hitch assist system 10 searches for the tongue 116 at 308. Thehitch assist system 10 may be unable to detect the coupler 14 (at 304),if the vehicle is too far relative to the trailer 16 for the imagingsystem 18 to image the coupler 14, or if weather conditions areinsufficient (i.e., low lighting), for example. At 308, the hitch assistsystem 10 searches for the tongue 116 in the image data 55, based onlearned appearances for a variety of tongues, such as through databasecomparison, for example. If (at 308) the tongue 116 is detected, thehitch assist system 10 estimates the path 32 to the endpoint 35 byestimating a position of the coupler 14 using endpoints of the tongue116 at 310. The hitch assist system 10 calculates the endpoint 35 to beat an end of the tongue 116 minus a nominal, constant value (at 310). If(at 308) the tongue 116 is not detected, the hitch assist system 10attempts to recognize the base 114 at 312. The imaging system 18 may betrained to characteristics of bases 114, including, for example, twowheels below a deck. The imaging system 18 may be further trained byproviding a machine learning image set of trailers 16 from a database.

If (at 312) the base 114 is detected, the hitch assist system 10estimates a pose, or the heading direction 33, of the trailer 16 at 314.Detecting the heading 33 at 314 allows the hitch assist system 10 tomake an estimation of a position of the coupler 14 to set as theendpoint 35 of the path 32 at 314. A lateral position of the base 114 iscalculated by the heading 33. As an example, the hitch assist system 10,assuming a heading 33 of 15°, may estimate that the coupler 14 is 40%offset from a center 36 of the base 114 at 314. Rough estimations ofcoupler position at 314 may be sufficient to allow the hitch assistsystem 10 to continue maneuvering along the path 32 toward the trailer16. As the vehicle approaches the trailer 16, clarity of the trailer 16increases in the image data 55 from the imaging system 18, and a morerefined classification, as described above, may become possible. Forexample, at 6 m, the hitch assist system 10 may only be able to estimatea position of the coupler 14 with the trailer 16. Once it maneuverswithin 4 m, the hitch assist system 10 detects the base 114 at 312, forexample, and refines an estimation of the coupler position. When within2 m, the hitch assist system 10 may identify the tongue 116 at 308,adding further refinement to the path 32. Within 1 m, the hitch assistsystem 10 may classify the coupler to directly determine its position,until the vehicle completes the maneuver. If, at 312, the base 114 isnot detected, the hitch assist system 10 estimates the coupler positionusing the body 112 of the trailer 16 at 316 to calculate the path 32. Byperforming the refinements in stages, as just described, the hitchassist system 10 avoids abrupt changes in direction, for instance, ifthe hitch assist system 10 shifts from a rough estimation at 6 m that isused until 1 m, then to a refined estimation. Therefore, path planningbecomes smoother and more accurate.

FIG. 10 depicts control logic for the hitch assist system 10 to use theclassification of the trailer 16 and the trailer components 110described above to identify a status of the trailer 16. For example, thestatus of the trailer 16 may be near or connected. At 400, the hitchassist system 10 may be activated either manually by the user, orautomatically via detection of the trailer 16, or the trailer-likeobject.

At 402, the hitch assist system 10 may identify the trailer 16, or thetrailer components 110 from the image data 55 using the classificationdescribed specifically by FIGS. 8 and 9. On identification of thetrailer 16, or trailer-like object, the hitch assist system 10 maydetermine a status of the trailer 16, or trailer-like object at 404. Thehitch assist system 10 is configured to request an update for thetrailer status at 404 in real-time, or at every instance a trailer 16 ortrailer-like object is detected. At 404, the trailer status is either“none”, “connected”, “far”, or “near”. If, at 404, the trailer status is“none” such that no trailer 16 is detected in the image data 55, thehitch assist system 10 continues searching for the trailer 16 ortrailer-like object at 402. This allows the user to reposition thevehicle 12, while the hitch assist system 10 continuously searches theimage data 55 for the trailer 16 or trailer-like object.

If, at 404, the trailer status is “connected” being indicative of atrailer 16 connected to the vehicle, the hitch assist system 10 may notbe available, as the coupler 14 and hitch ball 34 are already aligned,or be within the threshold distance such that hitch assist system 10will not activate when the trailer 16 is connected to the vehicle 12,and will notify, via the interface 40, the user at 406. The hitch assistsystem 10 may notify the user either audibly, in which sounds areemitted from the interface 40, visually, in which text or images appearon display 44 of the interface 40, or a combination of both at 406. If,at 404, the status of the trailer 16 is “far” being indicative of thevehicle 12 having a distance exceeding the first threshold from thetrailer 16 or trailer-like object, the hitch assist system 10 proceedswith a maneuver along the path 32 at 408. If, at 404, the status of thetrailer 16 is “near” being indicative of a distance from the vehicle tothe trailer 16 or trailer-like object being within the first threshold,the hitch assist system 10 determines if an estimated distance from thecoupler 14 to a position of the vehicle 12 at a standstill is within asecond threshold at 410.

Specifically, at 410, the estimated distance of the coupler 14, asprojected onto a ground plane, relative to a position of the vehicle 12at standstill is compared against the second threshold. If (at 410) theestimated distance is greater than, or not within the second threshold,the hitch assist system 10 proceeds as described at 408. If (at 410) theestimated distance is less than the second threshold, the hitch assistsystem 10 does not have enough travel distance to provide a successful,automated maneuver. The user is notified at 412 that the trailer 16 istoo close, and that the vehicle 12 must be driven forward to use thehitch assist system 10. As stated above, the hitch assist system 10 maybe used to search for the trailer 16 or trailer-like object at 402during repositioning. Again, as described above, the notification at 412may be audible, visual, or a combination of both audible and visibleinformation.

Referring specifically to FIGS. 11A-11B, rear perspective views areshown depicting two classified trailers 16 having identified trailercomponents 110 indicative of a status of the trailer 16, being “near” or“connected”, respectively. The hitch assist system 10 will denyactivation if a trailer 16 is connected, but allow activation otherwiseand, as will be described in more detail below, a trailer backup assistsystem (not shown) has an inverse logic. As depicted in FIGS. 11A-11B,the hitch assist system 10 uses the image data 55 from the rear camera48 to detect an overlap condition 120 between the tongue 116, and thehitch ball 34. If an overlap condition 120 does exist, as shown in FIG.11B, the hitch assist system 10 reports a status of the trailer 16 as“connected”. If the hitch ball 34 and tongue 116 show no overlap, asdepicted in FIG. 11A, the hitch assist system 10 determines a trailer 16is “near”, but not connected to the hitch ball 34. Additionally, thehitch assist system 10 is able to utilize the status of the trailer 16being “near”, in conjunction with the second threshold, to notify theuser that the trailer 16 is too close to the vehicle 12, and coach theuser to drive forward. The hitch assist system 10 requires a minimumdistance, or the first threshold, in which the minimum distance, orfirst threshold, is greater than the second threshold, to control thevehicle 12 accurately. Additionally, the hitch assist system 10 may bepreferred to activate during a vehicle standstill, as described.

Determination of the status of the trailer 16 does not require vehiclemotion, which provides a significant enhancement to systems that requirevehicle movement, for example, using the radar to detect the trailer 16behind the vehicle. As such, the hitch assist system 10 and the trailerbackup assist system (not shown) benefit through being activated duringvehicle standstill. Current methods to detect a status of the trailer 16being connected include drawbacks, such as reliance on an electricalconnector (not shown), which overlooks a trailer 16 connected withoutthe electrical connector such as, for example, during boat launch or,conversely, an auxiliary device may be plugged into the electricalconnector, which is not a trailer 16. Additionally, reliance ondetection of the tongue 116 is effective, even during vehiclestandstill, but does not differentiate the status of the trailer 16 asbetween “connected” and “near”. Detecting a status of the trailer 16further aids to improve the hitch assist system 10 described above, andthus provides an enhancement to detect a status of the trailer 16, beingeither “near” shown in FIG. 11A or “connected” shown in FIG. 11B.Incorporation of a detected status of the trailer 16 decreases errors,such as wrongly allowing or inhibiting activation of the hitch assistsystem 10 or the trailer backup assist system (not shown).

FIG. 12 depicts control logic for a trailer backup assist system 501integrating the trailer and trailer component classification from thehitch assist system 10. Several vehicle control sub-systems may wish toutilize the status of the trailer 16. As such, any vehicle controlsub-system may request that the trailer backup assist system 501evaluate the status of a trailer 16 behind the vehicle 12. For instance,at 500, at a start of the hitch assist system 10, described above, thetrailer backup assist system 501 is activated, and instructed to make anevaluation of a status of the trailer 16 detected by the hitch assistsystem 10. At 502, the trailer backup assist system processes image data55 from the rear view camera 48 of the image system 18 to detect thetongue 116 of the trailer 16. The trailer backup assist system 501 maydetect (at 502) a shape and position of the tongue 116, through a neuralnetwork or similar strategy, for example. At 504, the trailer backupassist system 501 decides if a tongue 116 can be perceived in the imagedata 55 from the imaging system 18. If, at 504, a tongue 116 is notdetected in the image data 55, the trailer backup assist system 501 setsthe status of the trailer 16 to “none” at 506. This status signal isused by vehicle control sub-systems to make feature-relevant decisionsand will be discussed below in more detail.

If (at 504) a tongue 116 is perceived in the image data 55, the trailerbackup assist system 501 determines if a position of the tongue 116,specifically an endpoint approximate to a bottom portion of an imagefrom the image data 55, is proximate the vehicle 12 at 508. The secondthreshold may be used to delineate the status of the trailer 16 being“far” or “not far”. Again, the second threshold may be applied as eithera pixel position on the camera 48 (i.e., at pixel position 500 orgreater is considered “far”), or an estimated distance on the groundplane (i.e., an estimate of 1 m or greater from the trailer 16 isconsidered “far”). If, at 508, a distance between the vehicle 12 and theendpoint 35 is greater than the second threshold, the trailer backupassist system 501 reports the status of the trailer 16 as being “far” at510. If, at 508, a distance between the vehicle 12 and the endpoint 35of the tongue 116 is less than the second threshold, the trailer backupsystem 501 activates the hitch assist system 10 to search for hitch ball34, as described at 512.

At 514, the trailer backup assist system 501 determines if the hitchball 34 is perceived in the image data 55 as being indicative of acomplete hitch assembly. If (at 514) the tongue 116 is connected to, orhas an overlap condition 120 with the hitch ball 34, the trailer backupassist system 501 will not be able to distinguish the hitch ball 34 inthe image data 55. The hitch ball 34 may only be considered completelyperceived (at 514) if a gap 122, depicted in FIG. 11A is detected in theimage data 55, and exists between the hitch ball 34 and the tongue 116above a pixel threshold. If (at 514) the trailer backup assist system501 detects the complete hitch ball 34 in the image data 55, the trailer16 is considered “near” to the vehicle 12, but not “connected,” and thetrailer backup assist system 501 reports the status of the trailer 16 as“near” at 516. If, at 514, the trailer backup assist system 501 does notdetect a hitch ball 34 in the image data 55 being indicative of anoverlap condition 120, the trailer 16 is considered as “connected,” andthe status is reported as “connected” at 518. This is an incompleteassessment, however, as the trailer 16 may be hovering above the hitchball 34, for example. Therefore, an associated confidence factor is alsoreported at 518 to determine if the trailer 16 is physically connectedas the trailer backup assist system 501 determines.

FIG. 13 depicts alternate control logic for outputting a status of thetrailer from the trailer 16 backup assist system 501. An alternateembodiment exists that uses neural networks, or deep learning toassociate instances of a status being “connected” and “near”. Forexample, the trailer backup assist system 501 may be programmed withpre-stored image data indicative of thousands of manually classifiedimages with each of the statuses as “none”, “near”, “far”, and“connected”. This teaches the trailer backup assist system 501 andappearance of each of the statuses, and allows the trailer backup assistsystem 501 to make a judgment on a new, unique scenario based on theassociated instances. For example, instead of perceiving a tongue 116 at504, estimating the endpoint 35 at 508, and perceiving the hitch ball 34at 514 from FIG. 12, the trailer backup assist system 501 determines thestatus of the trailer 16 (at 602) by using the associated instances, ifa tongue 116 is detected in the image data 55 (at 502) in FIG. 12. Thetrailer backup assist system 501 outputs, at 604, 606, 608, and 610 eachof the statuses of the trailer 16 based on the judgement of the trailerbackup assist system 501 from the associated instances. Additionally,the instance depicted in FIG. 13 may be combined with other systems todetermine the status of the trailer 16.

FIG. 14 depicts control logic for the trailer backup assist system 501to implement the status of the trailer 16. This logic shows how thetrailer backup assist system 501 uses the trailer status, afteractivation. At 700, the trailer backup assist system 501 requests astatus of the trailer 16. The request at 700 may be sent in real-time,or near-instantaneous. At 702, the trailer backup assist system 501searches for a trailer 16, as described. At 704, the trailer backupassist system 501 determines the status of the trailer 16 as described.At 704, the trailer backup assist system 501 determines a status of thetrailer 16 as either “none”, “connected”, “near”, or “far”. If, at 704,a trailer 16 is not connected to the vehicle 12 and the status is either“none”, “far”, or “near”, the trailer backup assist system 501 cannotproceed. At 706, the user is notified to connect the trailer 16 beforereattempting to use the trailer backup assist system 501. Again, asdescribed above, the notification to the user at 706 may be audible,visual, or a combination of audible and visible notifications on thedisplay 44 of the interface 40. If (at 704) the hitch assist system 10determines the status of the trailer 16 as connected, the trailer backupassist system 501 proceeds with an operation or maneuver at 708. Shownand described above, the present disclosure integrates a hitch assistsystem 10 with a trailer backup assist system 501 to automatemaneuvering toward, and determining the status of the trailer 16.

It is to be understood that variations and modifications can be made onthe aforementioned system and related structures without departing fromthe concepts of the present disclosure, and further it is to beunderstood that such concepts are intended to be covered by thefollowing claims unless these claims by their language expressly stateotherwise.

It is also important to note that the construction and arrangement ofthe elements of the disclosure as shown in the exemplary embodiments isillustrative only. Although only a few embodiments of the presentinnovations have been described in detail in this disclosure, thoseskilled in the art who review this disclosure will readily appreciatethat many modifications are possible (e.g., variations in sizes,dimensions, structures, shapes and proportions of the various elements,values of parameters, mounting arrangements, use of materials, colors,orientations, etc.) without materially departing from the novelteachings and advantages of the subject matter recited. For example,elements shown as integrally formed may be constructed of multiple partsor elements shown as multiple parts may be integrally formed, theoperation of the interfaces may be reversed or otherwise varied, thelength or width of the structures and/or members or connector or otherelements of the system may be varied, the nature or number of adjustmentpositions provided between the elements may be varied. It should benoted that the elements and/or assemblies of the system may beconstructed from any of a wide variety of materials that providesufficient strength or durability, in any of a wide variety of colors,textures, and combinations. Accordingly, all such modifications areintended to be included within the scope of the present innovations.Other substitutions, modifications, changes, and omissions may be madein the design, operating conditions, and arrangement of the desired andother exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of thepresent innovations.

It will be understood that any described processes or steps withindescribed processes may be combined with other disclosed processes orsteps to form structures within the scope of the present disclosure. Theexemplary structures and processes disclosed herein are for illustrativepurposes and are not to be construed as limiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for assisting in aligning a vehicle forhitching with a trailer comprising: a steering system that adjusts asteering angle of the vehicle; a braking system that adjusts a speed ofthe vehicle; an imaging system that outputs image data of an areaproximate the vehicle and including a trailer-like object; and acontroller that: evaluates the trailer-like object to determine if thetrailer-like object is a trailer; detects, within a first thresholddistance defined from a stationary point on the vehicle and the trailer,a position of a coupler within the image data; detects, responsive tothe position being less than the first threshold distance, a status ofthe trailer based on the image data being indicative of a position of ahitch ball relative to the coupler within a second threshold distance;maneuvers, via the steering and braking systems, the vehicle based onthe status; and responsive to the evaluation including a trailer-likeobject defining a contour mismatch and the position being greater thanthe first threshold distance, detects a base, via an estimation of apose in the image data of the trailer-like object.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the controller classifies the image data based on theevaluation and initiates vehicle movement approaching the trailer-likeobject, wherein the evaluation is indicative of the image data includinga trailer with a confidence level assigned during the evaluationexceeding a threshold level.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein thecontroller detects a tongue, via contour matching, in the image data ofthe trailer-like object responsive to the evaluation being indicative ofthe image data including a trailer with a confidence level assignedduring the evaluation exceeding the threshold level such that,responsive to the tongue in the image data, the controller establishesthe trailer-like object as a trailer.
 4. The system of claim 3, whereinthe controller activates the braking system responsive to the evaluationincluding a trailer-like object defining a contour mismatch of thetongue and the position being less than the first threshold distance. 5.The system of claim 1, wherein the controller, responsive to theestimation being indicative of the image data including a trailer withthe confidence less than the threshold level, maneuvers to the positionbased on a body of the trailer-like object identified in the image data.6. The system of claim 1, wherein the status is determined throughassociation of the image data with predetermined image data beingindicative of each of the statuses and stored in the controller.
 7. Ahitch assist system for a vehicle comprising: an imaging system thatreceives image data of a trailer-like object disposed in an areaproximate a vehicle hitch; and a controller that: classifies the imagedata based on an evaluation of the trailer-like object and initiatesvehicle movement approaching the trailer-like object, wherein theevaluation is indicative of the image data including a trailer with aconfidence level assigned during the evaluation and exceeding athreshold level; detects a tongue associated with the trailer-likeobject, via contour matching, in the image data such that, responsive tothe tongue in the image data, the controller establishes thetrailer-like object as a trailer, and that detects, within a firstthreshold distance defined from a stationary point on the vehicle andthe trailer, a position of a coupler from the image data and maneuvers,via the steering and braking systems, the vehicle based on the position;and activates the braking system responsive to the evaluation includingthe trailer-like object defining a contour mismatch of the tongue andthe position being less than the first threshold distance.
 8. The hitchassist system of claim 7, wherein the controller, responsive to theevaluation including a trailer-like object defining a contour mismatchand the position being greater than the first threshold distance,detects a base, via an estimation of a pose in the image data of thetrailer-like object.
 9. The hitch assist system of claim 8, wherein thecontroller, responsive to the estimation being indicative of the imagedata including a trailer with the confidence less than the thresholdlevel, maneuvers to the position based on a body of the trailer-likeobject identified in the image data.
 10. The hitch assist system ofclaim 7, wherein the controller further detects, responsive to theposition being less than the first threshold distance, a status of thetrailer based on the image data being indicative of a position of ahitch ball relative to the coupler compared to a second thresholddistance, and maneuvers, via the steering and braking systems, thevehicle based on the status.
 11. The hitch assist system of claim 10,wherein the status is determined through association of the image datawith predetermined image data indicative of each of the statuses beingstored in the controller.
 12. The hitch assist system of claim 7,wherein the first threshold distance is indicative of a distance from acenter point of the hitch ball to a center point of the coupler.
 13. Ahitch assist system for a vehicle comprising: a steering system thatadjusts a steering angle of the vehicle; a braking system that adjusts aspeed of the vehicle; an imaging system that outputs image data of anarea proximate the vehicle and includes a trailer-like object; and acontroller that: evaluates the trailer-like object to determine if thetrailer-like object is a trailer; detects, within a first thresholddistance defined from a stationary point on the vehicle and the trailer,a position of a coupler within the image data; classifies the image datafrom the evaluation being indicative of the image data being a trailerwith a confidence level assigned during the evaluation exceeding athreshold level and initiates vehicle movement approaching thetrailer-like object; detects a tongue, via contour matching, in theimage data of the trailer-like object such that, responsive to thetongue in the image data, the controller establishes the trailer-likeobject as a trailer; maneuvers, via the steering and braking systems,the vehicle based on the position of the coupler within the image data;detects, responsive to the position being less than the first thresholddistance, a status of the trailer based on the image data beingindicative of a position of a hitch ball relative to the coupler withina second threshold distance; and maneuvers, via the steering and brakingsystems, the vehicle based on the status.
 14. The hitch assist system ofclaim 13, wherein the controller activates the braking system responsiveto the trailer-like object defining a contour mismatch of the tongue andthe position being less than the first threshold distance.
 15. The hitchassist system of claim 13, wherein the status is determined throughassociation of the image data with predetermined image data of each ofthe statuses stored in the controller.
 16. The hitch assist system ofclaim 13, wherein the first threshold distance is indicative of adistance from a center point of the hitch ball to a center point of thecoupler.
 17. The hitch assist system of claim 13, wherein the controllerdisplays, on an interface, the trailer from the image data such that anidentifier highlights the trailer, wherein the identifier is adjustableon a display of the interface.
 18. The method for aligning a vehicle forhitching with a trailer of claim 17, wherein the controller adjusts theidentifier being a window that surrounds the trailer such that thewindow is moveable to individual trailer components detected by thecontroller.